Cabinet Office underwent an Information Management Assessment (IMA) by The National Archives (TNA) in 2013. The final report is published today and I welcome the assessment.

I am pleased that it recognises a number of examples of good practice; and that we have been assessed good or satisfactory in most areas. In particular, it highlights the Prime Minister’s Office “impressive, well-managed electronic correspondence and email management system”. And that Cabinet and Cabinet Committees which operate in pressured work environments, have well-established and consistently applied processes supporting good records management.

I also recognise however that there are inconsistencies in the way we manage our information and I take on board the report’s comments about areas for improvement. The Cabinet Office holds some of government’s most important records, and as a department we are committed to making sure that we manage and protect them. The recommendations provide a firm basis for moving forward. Like all departments, I think we have really struggled (at least in some parts) with an electronic record management system that commands user confidence and is embedded into day-to-day working practices.

We will now develop an action plan in collaboration with TNA that addresses those areas for development, in particular to strengthen governance on information risk and assurance. Over the past 6 months we have been designing a new IT service which should better support good information management.

Richard Heaton

Permanent Secretary and First Parliamentary Counsel